Musk Declares ‘War’ on Advertiser Cartel
Elon Musk has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), alleging that it organized an illegal boycott of X (formerly Twitter). Video hosting platform Rumble has joined the complaint.
The suit, filed in Texas on Tuesday, follows last month’s publication of a report by the US House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee, which found evidence that GARM conspired to demonetize and otherwise harm “disfavored platforms.”
“We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words. Now, it is war,”Musk said on X, above a post from Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski announcing he would join the case.
“This is not a decision we took lightly, but it is a direct consequence of their actions,” X CEO Linda Yaccarino said in an open letter to all users, calling the behavior by GARM and others “a stain on a great industry, and cannot be allowed to continue.”
A Message to X Users pic.twitter.com/6bZOYPhWVa
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) August 6, 2024
According to Yaccarino, X has “met and surpassed” the requests made by GARM and other advertiser groups to improve controls and increase the effectiveness of their ads, working in good faith to allay their concerns.
“The unfortunate reality is that despite all our efforts, hundreds of meetings and research to the contrary, many companies chose to dismiss the facts. To those who broke the law, we say enough is enough,” Yaccarino said.
The lawsuit names GARM, the World Federation of Advertisers, and GARM members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever as the defendants, with a note that the list could be expanded later pending discovery. X is seeking treble the damages as compensation.
Last month, the New York Post called GARM head Robert Rakowitz a “fascist creep” and self-styled “mega-censor of everything people can read.” The outlet was censored on multiple platforms in 2020, after publishing an entirely truthful story about Hunter Biden’s laptop that the Democrats denounced as “disinformation.”
According to the House report, GARM is an initiative of the WFA, which represents the world’s biggest ad buyers. Its members control 90% of global marketing spending, to the tune of almost $1 trillion a year. Documents obtained by the lawmakers showed Rakowitz bragging that X was “80% below revenue forecasts” since GARM began targeting it. His defense was that the email was meant as a “self-effacing joke.”
Outside observers have pointed out that GARM received money from the US government and may have been part of the notorious “censorship-industrial complex” exposed by the ‘Twitter Files.’
USAID “explicitly said it was reaching out to advertisers, doing ‘advertiser outreach’ to organize advertiser boycotts to cut financial support to disfavored websites,” noted Mike Benz, a former Trump administration official who now runs the Foundation for Freedom Online.
Steven Crowder Promotes Rumble Following YouTube Censorship
Popular political commentator Steven Crowder has announced that his YouTube channel has been “effectively” banned until the November election, and is urging his audience to watch his shows on Rumble instead.
Last Friday, the channel received strikes on eight videos, including one from 2023. A screenshot of Google’s notices shows that eight of the videos received strikes for “harassment and cyberbullying” and one for “hate speech.”
Judging by the titles and descriptions, the videos deal with the upcoming election and are critical of the Biden-Harris administration – particularly of the latter’s past and present policies and conduct – as well as of mainstream media, and Google itself.
The strikes were issued on August 2 and will expire on October 31 – 5 days before election day.
According to Crowder, all but one of the videos were livestreams published since Biden had to withdraw from the presidential race, making Kamala Harris the Democrats’ candidate.
Crowder sees this as the beginning of the giant’s “election policy” where it is clearly taking sides, and not only that, but suppressing “any and all opposition to their narrative.”
He also revealed that his channel has reached out to YouTube in the hope of getting some answers. In the meanwhile, he accused Google of interfering in the election through censorship and withholding information that it doesn’t want to be easily available to users.
This is tantamount to Big Tech, possibly except for X, “doing their part” to sway, or as Crowder put it, “rig” the election.
He announced that on election night, his show will be covering the ballot by using the same news agency sources as legacy media, but also their own analysts in order to provide an alternative to the way elections are covered by those outlets often accused of open bias.
According to Crowder, this project has been in the works for months, and YouTube is aware of it – and not happy about it. So much so, that he believes the giant video platform will make sure it isn’t discoverable.
For that reason, Crowder called on his viewers to follow the show on Rumble.
Trump Media Group Announces New ‘Uncancellable’ Streaming Service to Combat Big Tech
(LifeSiteNews) — Donald Trump’s media empire is breaking into the television market with a new streaming service that purports to be “uncancellable.”
On Friday, Trump Media & Technology Group announced that it is in the beginning stages of rolling out Truth+ to deliver news, political commentary, lifestyle, and entertainment programming.
“First, we created Truth Social to provide a safe harbor for free speech on the Internet,” former congressman turned Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said. “Now, we’re establishing a reliable home for great TV content that is neglected by the big corporations or is at risk of cancellation.”
Former President Donald Trump founded Truth Social in 2021 to stand up to the “tyranny of Big Tech.” The company’s initial public offering in 2024 placed the platform at around $8 billion. Trump had been banned from Twitter (now X) following the protests that occurred in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021.
In 2023, Trump’s Twitter account was restored after new owner Elon Musk took a poll of users who responded 51.8 percent in favor of having him reinstated. Since then, Trump has shared just one post on the platform – a mugshot taken after he was booked into a Georgia county jail in response to a slew of bogus charges relating to his alleged efforts to overturn the questionable 2020 presidential election.
https://t.co/MlIKklPSJT pic.twitter.com/Mcbf2xozsY
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2023
News of the announcement sent the stock ($29.21) up almost 8 percent last Friday, though it remains around half of what it was at its debut.
LifeSite has also taken steps to ensure we are no longer “cancelable” after years of battling Big Tech censorship. In 2020, we launched an explosive original series, Uncensored: Big Tech vs. Free Speech, that blew the lid off the industry’s liberal bias.
In 2024, we launched our very own app called LSNTV, which is available for download on both the Apple Store and Google Play. You can also stream our latest video coverage on popular platforms like Roku, Fire, and Samsung Smart TV.
Trump Media & Technology Group revealed that it has additional plans to allow streaming on Truth Social for Android and Apple iOS devices. It is also seeking to create programming that focuses on Christian and “family friendly” content.
“The introduction of these channels is the initial phase of Truth Social’s TV streaming platform. The next phase is expected to feature the introduction of streaming apps integrated with the Truth Social platform that will offer enhanced features, including an interactive 14-day electronic guide, instant catch-up TV on any show broadcast in the previous 7 days, network DVR, video on demand, and more. Following that, TMTG plans to introduce apps that provide the ability to watch streaming content on in-home TV sets,” it announced.
The U.S. presidential election is less than 95 days away. Thus far, no debate has been scheduled between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who announced on Monday that she has named pro-abortion liberal governor of Minnesota Tim Walz as her running mate.
Pakistani National with ‘Ties to Iran’ Charged Over Foiled Plot to Assassinate Trump
A Pakistani national allegedly tied to Iran has been arrested and charged in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump, according to the Justice Department.
Asif Raza Merchant, 46, was accused by the DOJ of a murder-for-hire scheme to assassinate a “politician or U.S. government official on U.S. soil,” with one U.S. official clarifying that Trump was one of the intended targets.
Prosecutors say Merchant was seeking men to commit the actual assassinations, a woman to do “reconnaissance,” and about 25 people “who could perform a protest as a distraction after the murder occurred.”
From CNN:
Merchant arrived in New York City in April, prosecutors say, and aimed to hire a hit man who would carry out assassinations against officials on US soil. Although Merchant is a Pakistani national, prosecutors say he spent time in Iran and has family there.
Once in the United States, Merchant allegedly contacted someone who he believed would assist him in the murder-for-hire plot. That person, however, contacted the FBI and began working for investigators as a confidential source.
Merchant met with the confidential human source in early June, prosecutors say, and said that he wanted he wanted to find people in New York to do three things: steal documents or USB drives from one victim’s home, plan protests at political rallies and carry out assassinations. Merchant allegedly told the confidential human source that the work was not a one-time opportunity and made a “finger gun” motion with his hand.
Merchant was arrested trying to leave the U.S. shortly after meeting the purported hitmen he thought would carry out the assassination but who turned out to be undercover officers.
Notably, Merchant was arrested on July 12 — the day before the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania — but prosecutors say he had no connection to that incident.
According to court documents, Merchant wanted to target individuals he believed were “hurting Pakistan and the world, [the] Muslim world,” adding that “these are not just normal people.”
A lawyer for Merchant denied that he was cooperating with authorities, calling the claim “inaccurate” and “irresponsible.”
The top leadership of the DOJ and FBI released statements Tuesday condemning Merchant’s alleged plot to kill Trump.
“For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran’s lethal plotting against American citizens and will not tolerate attempts by an authoritarian regime to target American public officials and endanger America’s national security.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray likewise stated, “This dangerous murder-for-hire plot exposed in today’s complaint allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook.”
“A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI,” he added.
This comes as the intelligence agencies have been repeatedly warning that Iran may try to retaliate for Trump’s 2020 drone strike that killed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Gen. Qasem Soleimani by trying to kill Trump or his former advisers.
Infowars founder Alex Jones cautioned against taking the DOJ’s arrest of Merchant at face value, asserting, “This is cover for the next deep state attack.”
This is cover for the next deep state attack https://t.co/Xt43zSV6wO
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 6, 2024
Read the DOJ’s criminal complaint:
BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Roger Stone Warns Deep State May Assassinate Biden To Steal Election
Roger Stone joins Alex Jones live to respond to Kamala Harris’ VP pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as well as wargame what the Deep State will do next to maintain absolute power.
BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Roger Stone Warns Deep State May Assassinate Biden To Steal Election@RogerJStoneJr pic.twitter.com/GWAPjTlkuo
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 6, 2024
AOC Blasted After Asking JD Vance ‘Why Are You Sitting Like That’
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) likely regretted asking why Trump vice presidential candidate JD Vance sat with his legs apart during a recent interview.
In a post still up on X, the far-left Squad leader asked the Trump running mate, “Why are you sitting like that,” in reference to Vance’s sitting posture during an interview over the weekend on the “Full Send Podcast.”
Why are you sitting like that https://t.co/VYaWc52nPU
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 6, 2024
“Balls,” one of the top replies from X user @EndWokeness told AOC, adding, “I would tell you to ask your boyfriend but he probably doesn’t have any.”
Balls.
I would tell you to ask your boyfriend but he probably doesn’t have any.— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) August 6, 2024
If anyone’s wondering how AOC’s fiancé since 2022 sits, wonder no more.
Here’s what she’s used to in men pic.twitter.com/R5uxiLPFBv
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) August 6, 2024
Why is he sitting like that pic.twitter.com/VtNeoaoWRV
— The Right To Bear Memes (@grandoldmemes) August 6, 2024
Other commenters also took AOC to the woodshed over her “manspreading” complaint.
You mean like this? pic.twitter.com/HHC1hV6nSb
— Five Times August (@FiveTimesAugust) August 6, 2024
It’s more comfortable for men to sit like this because of our balls.
— Chase Geiser (@realchasegeiser) August 6, 2024
If you were competent enough to understand the difference between men and women you’d know exactly why.
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 6, 2024
It’s called a penis.
— TheQuartering (@TheQuartering) August 6, 2024
You know, the thing you say women have?
Wait, are you really asking @JDVance to mansplain manspreading?
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) August 6, 2024
The responses just got worse for AOC from there, with Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. chiming in questioning why she was also photographed sitting legs spread at one point.
Why are you sitting like that? https://t.co/Ke1bSMX9h8 pic.twitter.com/qNX5Mfcw9m
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 6, 2024
AOC is not a smart person. https://t.co/PD5mLwaGfL pic.twitter.com/RaTjZzzxQY
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) August 6, 2024
This you ? pic.twitter.com/7SOT5R08gb
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) August 6, 2024
This you? https://t.co/d8R45BpHjj pic.twitter.com/RmbeFL8qHT
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) August 6, 2024
You were just wanting attention weren’t you? This you? pic.twitter.com/ac772j0NlU
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) August 6, 2024
The 2024 Democratic Party platform:
— Pericles ‘Perry’ Abbasi (@ElectionLegal) August 6, 2024
Having testicles = weird
Cutting off your testicles = not weird pic.twitter.com/W4aoCQ3DOJ
While AOC likely didn’t intend her post to have the effect it did, the reaction to it shows Democrats aren’t thinking on their feet when it comes to smearing the Trump-Vance ticket.